Zardari's confession validates our stand on militants: Krishna

ET Bureau|

Jul 10, 2009, 03.34 AM IST

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NEW DELHI: India on Thursday said that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari���s admission of nurturing terrorists validated India���s stand and hoped that the Pakistani leadership would now take action against the entire terror infrastructure.

External affairs minister S M Krishna who made statements in both Houses of Parliament said India now had ���some kind of confession��� on state-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan.

���As regards Pakistan, we have got some kind of confession from the highest authority of Pakistan. To that extent, India���s stand has been vindicated in the eyes of the world,��� Mr Krishna said in Rajya Sabha. He was responding to a clarification from leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on India���s assessment of the Pakistani leadership in the backdrop of Mr Zardari���s admissions on the state nurturing terrorists.

The external affairs minister further hoped for decisive action on terror. ���Today, the president of Pakistan has spoken about it. I hope, hereafter, Pakistan will make a determined bid to curb terrorism,��� he said.

India has continued to say that it is Pakistan���s responsibility to take action against terrorists and warned that continued dialogue with Pakistan can take place only in the backdrop of an ���atmosphere free of the threat of violence���.

Even though New Delhi has taken the step of starting the dialogue, there is still little evidence of Islamabad���s action against terror groups targeting India.

Confused signals have been coming out of Pakistan with Mr Zardari confessing to state sponsorship of terrorism, even as other members of the Pakistani leadership maintain the position that peace in the region cannot be discussed without resolving the Kashmir issue.

Mr Krishna in his statement in Parliament pointed out that ties with Pakistan had come under stress because terror groups in Pakistan still had the licence to carry out attacks against India. He further said it was up to Islamabad to take the necessary steps.

���It is the responsibility of the government of Pakistan to take all such steps as are necessary to address this issue and expose and take action against the conspiracies and conspirators responsible for such attacks. Unfortunately, terrorists in Pakistan continue attacks against India,��� he said.

Mr Krishna was also quite clear that the dialogue with Pakistan could only take place in an atmosphere free of violence. ���We also recognise the importance and salience of a continued dialogue with Pakistan. However, dialogue addressing mutual concerns is premised on an atmosphere free of the threat of violence,��� he said.

The future course of the Indo-Pak dialogue is expected to become clear after foreign secretary level talks take place in Egypt, followed immediately by a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani president Yousaf Raza Gilani.

���After the foreign secretaries report, we will be able to take stock of the situation at Sharm-el-Sheikh where, at the margins of the Non-Aligned Summit, prime minister will be meeting the Pakistani leadership,��� said Mr Krishna in his statement.

The foreign secretaries of the two countries are expected to discuss what Pakistan is doing to prevent terror attacks against India and the steps Islamabad is taking to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks.